Home looks mighty good tonight to these Devils whose owners are in such a hurry to leave it.

The Devils return to the Meadowlands this evening to face the Penguins, back to the bunker where they stand an impressive 8-1-1 this season, pointed tails between their legs limping home from a four-game winless western swing.

The Devils scored five goals combined in those four losses (0-3-1), continuing their run of failing to score more than two goals for 12 straight road games, their season opener the lone exception. They hope they didn’t carry that malady home with them.

“On the road, because we’re trying to match lines, it takes a lot of flow and momentum away from our first and second lines,” John Madden said. “When the checking line comes over the boards every two shifts, it makes it more difficult for the scoring lines.”

At home, the Devils have scored marginally more, 10 standard goals in four straight wins. Their 53 goals-for stands worst in the Eastern Conference, only better than Chicago (51) and Columbus (50) across the NHL.

The Devils’ defensive record, tied for best in the East, is part of their identity. Right or wrong, so is their offensive futility.

“We’re playing pretty decently all the way through, but we’re not scoring goals. And we need some,” Brian Gionta said. “We want to keep it simple, get shots to the net, and get guys going to the net for rebounds and tips.”

“Any goals,” Claude Julien pleaded, not particular. “But we don’t want to give in on some things we’re doing well [defensively] to compensate.”

That’s the optimal balance point coaches always are trying to find for their teams: offensive risk vs. defensive safety. Right now, the Devils’ offensive side seems under-loaded.

*

Richard Matvichuk is getting close to making his season debut, practicing with the full team after summertime disk surgery. The big issue will be how Lou Lamoriello clears salary-cap space to fit the rest of his $1.3 million salary. . . . Julien said he was hopeful Paul Martin would play tonight, after Martin missed his second straight day of practice with the flu.